OFFICIAL

 

FOI Request: LEX 11678

  

Dear CR 

  

Thank you for your email dated 21 October 2024 seeking access to documents
under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).  

  

This email sets out some information about how your request will be
processed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (the
department).  

  

Scope of request:  

You have sought access to:       

  

 1. Correspondence between DFAT and Crikey regarding how many Australians
have been evacuated or killed as a result of the last 12 months of war
in the Middle East. Crikey states this correspondence started on 11
October 2024.

 

 2. Internal deliberation, decision-making and consultation with relevant
line areas within DFAT as a result of Crikey's request for
information. All documents that were created as a result of this
process. This part should demonstrate:

i)                    The department's consideration of and response to
Crikey's request for information.

ii)                   The decision-making process on whether to disclose
the requested information.

iii)                 Any discussions about the rationale for not providing
certain information or putting reasoning on the record.

iv)                 Consultations between different sections or
individuals within DFAT regarding this matter.  

 

If it emerges that the scope of your request is unclear or is too large
for processing, the department will contact you to discuss re-scoping the
request.  

  

Timeframe for receiving our decision:  

We received your request on 21 October and the 30-day statutory period for
processing your request commenced from the day after that date. A decision
is currently due to you by 20 November 2024. The period of 30 days may be
extended in certain circumstances.    

    

Please be advised that officers that would normally be responsible for
responding to FOI requests relating to the ongoing conflict in the Middle
East are currently fully engaged on responding to developments in the
region.   

 

We seek your agreement to providing the department with an extension of 21
calendar days to process your FOI request in accordance with section 15AA
of the FOI Act. This would mean that a decision would then be due to you
by 11 December. 

 

The additional time will enable the department to finalise its processes
and provide you with an outcome.  

 

Please be assured that we will continue to process your request as quickly
as possible and will provide an outcome to you as soon as it is
available.  

  

Timeframe

 

We would be grateful if you could please reply to our request by COB 15
November 2024.   

 

If we do not hear from you, we may apply to the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner for an extension to the statutory timeframe.

 

Charges:   

Please note that the department may issue charges for processing FOI
requests.  If applicable, we will advise you of any relevant charges when
we are in a position to estimate the resources required to process your
request.   

   

Disclosure log:   

Please note that, with some exceptions (such as personal information),
documents released under the FOI Act may later be published on the
department’s [1]disclosure log.   

  

Exclusion of officials’ names and contact details:  

It is the department’s policy to withhold the personal information of
junior staff from ministerial offices and government officials not in the
Senior Executive Service (SES) or equivalent, including their email
addresses and contact numbers, together with all signatures, mobile phone
numbers, departmental inboxes and technical transmission details including
reference numbers.  

   

Duplicate documents and incomplete email chains:  

Your request will be processed on the basis that you did not intend to
capture duplicate documents or duplicate emails within email chains.  

 

If you require the excluded information or documents, please let us know
at [2][DFAT request email] so the decision-maker may consider; otherwise, we
will take it that you agree to the information and documents being
excluded from the scope of your request.  

  

Personal Information:  

If we need to consult with other people or organisations regarding your
FOI request, we may need to disclose your personal information (e.g. your
name). When we consult it may be apparent that you have made a request,
even if we do not disclose your identity. Please let us know if you have
any concerns in this regard. Further information on the way the department
handles personal information is accessible via our [3]privacy policy.  

  

Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to
contact us by reply email.  

  

Kind Regards 

Daniel

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OFFICIAL

 

FOI Request: LEX 11678 

 

Dear CR 

 

I refer to your request to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
(the department) for access to documents under the Freedom of Information
Act 1982 (the FOI Act). 

 

I am writing to let you know that the department’s preliminary examination
of the documents relevant to your request has determined that
consultations are required as provided for in [1]section 27A of the FOI
Act, as the documents contain personal information relating to other
persons.  

 

The other persons may contend that the disclosure of their personal would
be an unreasonable disclosure of personal information, as defined in
[2]section 47F of the FOI Act. 

 

To allow the other person a reasonable opportunity to consider whether to
contend that their personal information should be exempt from disclosure,
the statutory 30-day time limit for processing your request is extended by
another 30 days, as provided for in [3]section 15(6) of the FOI Act. 
Accordingly, a decision will now be due to you by 10 January 2024.  

 

While consultation with persons whose personal information appears in the
documents is required by the FOI Act, this does not confer a right of veto
on the release of this information or the documents as a whole.  The
decision remains that of the department’s decision-maker, who must have
regard to any submissions put forward by the persons concerned. 

 

Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to
contact us by reply email. 

 

Best

Daniel

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